Dealing With Patients With Special Needs

When caring for a patient or relative at home with special needs, you need to ensure that you are prepared to deal with the various situations that can come up in dealing with that particular person. This can vary from special care (such as massages on the extremities) to having special equipment on hand.

For example, having an elderly and feeble person at home can require lots of special equipment such as oxygen bags, walkers, shower stools, potty chairs, and other specialized items. These things can start to add up (in terms of cost) but not having them can end up being more costly. Take having a shower stool. Should the person slip in the shower for lack of having one, then that can easily wind up in a trip to the hospital. So you would actually be much better off having the equipment.

In the case of someone who has physical disabilities, then the things needed will be specific to their disability. Wheelchairs, stair chairs and walkers are pretty standard fare. Stair walker installations and support bars may also be necessary.

In terms of what care must be given, you need to consult with a doctor to see if there are any procedures that can be done at home that you should train on. There may not actually be anything that you can do, or there may be a lot.

These things may seem obvious, but it is crucial that a doctor is consulted with so that each individual case can be well cared for. These factors can make all the difference between having a difficult time, and being able to competently deal with whatever situation may present itself in the course of care.